Two-goal Shaqiri on “perfect day” against Manchester United

Xherdan Shaqiri claimed he wasn’t surprised that Liverpool overran Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday, claiming the visiting side were “defensive”.

A mistake from Alisson Becker gifted United a route back into the game after Sadio Mane had opened the scoring brilliantly from a perfectly-weighted Fabinho ball into the box.

However, Shaqiri came off the bench and turned the tide with two deflected goals, restoring Liverpool to the top of the Premier League.

READ: Jurgen Klopp on Bayern draw: “I am looking forward to it”

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 16: Xherdan Shaqiri of Liverpool celebrates his goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield on December 16, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (AFP/GETTY)

READ: Gary Neville admits “United were awful” against Liverpool

“I’m not surprised,” Shaqiri responded, when told that Liverpool notched 36 attempts on goal compared to United’s 6 efforts.

“We know Manchester United plays defensively, they aren’t going to have a lot of ball possession and it was important today to play with high intensity, to press them high, to have the second balls and play forward fast to try and create a lot of chances.

“We did that today but obviously in the second half much better, and we scored in the end another two goals.

“We need to maybe do that better before, take the chances to score, because against big teams you have to take chances because the big teams can have only one chance and score. We managed that very well.”

Shaqiri has only made seven starts this season after his £13million move from Stoke City in the summer, but despite the fact that he would prefer to start more games, the No.23 is happy to contribute where he can.

“Obviously I’d be lying if I said you are not disappointed when you are on the bench – every player is disappointed when he’s on the bench,” he said, according to the Independent.

“But I always stay positive and try to help the team when I come on and you saw today when I came on I tried to help the team and to have an impact.

“[Klopp] said to me he wanted me to be in the game directly. I tried to be direct in the game and you can see also I prepared myself very [well].

“I watched the game from outside also, so you can see the spaces and there were a lot of spaces between the lines.

“I am very good between the lines and try to stay there and pick the ball up to have an impact and stay in the game. In the end I scored two goals and we won the game, that’s a perfect day for us.”

The post Two-goal Shaqiri on “perfect day” against Manchester United appeared first on AnfieldHQ.

Source: anfieldhq.com